"Come out, Sir Bannett, we need to talk, I have a friend who needs your help..."
From outside the coffin, Constantine called. After several minutes, the lid of the coffin barely opened a crack. Bannett's eyes glowed red in the darkness. He looked at Constantine and said, "John, I've only been asleep for less than a decade, and my strength hasn't even recovered halfway. No matter what you want to do, I'm afraid I may not be able to help."
"Just a little favor. I've already left the magic realm. It's unlikely that there would be a big issue where I need your help."
Bannett widened his eyes in surprise. He looked at Constantine and asked, "You left the magic realm? How did you pay off those astonishing debts?"
"That's a long story, bug come on out."
A few minutes later, Jim, Bannett, and Constantine sat together at the bar in the Forgotten Bar.
After listening to Constantine's story, Bannett exhaled, it was hard to tell whether he was sighing or relaxing from a close shave.
"John, you're a lucky fellow." After taking a sip of his drink, Bannett remarked, "Your friend paid off your debt at their own expense. From here on out, you are not the same as us."
"There's not much difference, really." Constantine gently clinked his glass against Bannett's, "You should know that paying off a debt isn't the end of it. I can't completely detach myself from the magic realm. Too many people are after me."
"When we parted, I told you that I would need at least a hundred years of sleep to recover the power I lost. What on earth could make you wake me up prematurely?"
"Before that, I have a question for you..." Constantine turned to face Bannett, "Do you have any descendants?"
"You mean vampire descendants?" Bannett looked into Constantine's eyes, and after seeing his confirming gaze, he shook his head and said, "I'm not like those foolish members of the Demon Sect, proud of their own bloodline. It was all just an accident."
"They passionately sought eternal life, even wanting to grant immortality to all humans. They constantly created descendants around the world. Mary was deceived by them into creating that heresy called the Bloody Moon."
"I heard that Mary is your descendant?" Constantine asked somewhat cautiously.
There was a sorrowful look in Bannett's eyes as he answered, "Yes, she discovered my secret when she was still my wife. She begged me to convert her into a vampire, so we could be together forever."
"I don't know if she deceived me in her desire for eternal life, but after I converted her, she became obsessed with blood and eternal lifespan, taking a path of no return."
Bannett drained his glass and continued, "Now she's the important figure, the Blood Queen in the Demon Sect, she's no longer my wife Mary."
"So, you have the ability to convert others to become your descendants?"
"I'm an exception." Bannett looked down and explained, "As I explained to you many years ago, humans who have been bitten or injured by vampires don't become descendants. Instead, they turn into blood-thirsty monsters. To turn someone into a descendant requires the complex Initiation Ceremony."
"The vampire that bit me didn't perform the Initiation Ceremony on me. But as you know, my direct ancestors were magicians who, generations ago, combined with the elves of the Maya World, giving their descendants special bloodlines."
"So, after I was bitten, I didn't entirely lose my mind. When the toxin from the infection in my blood was metabolized away, I became a member of the Blood Clan, no different from any other descendant."
"I performed the Initiation Ceremony on Mary and succeeded. Yet, I still believe, the great power she possesses now is provided by those damn Demon Sect vampires, who recklessly killed and fed in great quantities, they are naturally stronger than me. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tricked me into sleeping."
"I bear some responsibility for that too." Constantine admitted, "At the time, my power was exhausted. If you hadn't held back the pursuers, we wouldn't have been able to destroy the sacrificial altar of the Bloody Moon cult, and more people would have fallen victim."
"Of course, I know that, so I don't blame you." Bannett shook his head, "I've been avoiding you because I genuinely have no power left to help you. If you found me, I wouldn't be able to return your favor which would make me feel guilty."
"There's no favor here." Constantine sighed, "I'm no longer active in the magic realm, and this time I'm asking for your help. I just want you to do me a small favor that doesn't require your strength."
"What do you want to do?"
"I'd like you to convert a descendant."
"What?!" Bannett exclaimed in disbelief. Clenching his wine glass, glaring at Constantine he replied, "You're a human, and yet, you want to turn your own kind into a vampire?! That's evil!"
"Let me explain..." Constantine grabbed his arm, saying, "I was also asked for help by someone else, otherwise I wouldn't have spent the past few nights turning over the entire Cemetery of Ten-Thousand Spirits just to find you..."
"There's no room for negotiation!" Bannett put down his glass and walked towards the exit, looking back he said, "I'm even willing to strike down the heresy again, but I will never turn another human being into a descendant! Isn't Mary's tragedy enough for you?"